Tag Archives: Jeffrey Ford

May 2020 Reading Recap

By Posted in Ramblings, Reading Recap Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

May2020RR

May featured the Nebulas and continued work on myself during this unemployed time.

No special posts this month, but definitely an interview with K.A. Doore coming your way in June.

Continue reading →

ARC Review: OUT OF BODY by Jeffrey Ford (2020)

By Posted in Ramblings, Reviews Tagged , , , 1 Comment

Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Adult Horror Novella
Year Release: May 2020
Source: Physical ARC

Read an ARC given to me by the publisher

Librarians sure are having a time in the spotlight in recent months. In this horror, a librarian witnesses a murder during an attempted robbery which comes with a side effect of being able to wander the night as a sleeper while his flesh remains at home.

I really liked the depiction and use of sleep paralysis in this one. Trauma can have different effects on an individual and Ford found a great way to make sleep come with a veneer of control. Melody, his tutor, had also been great as a mentor character without seeming too omniscient on the exact workings of being a sleeper. The book didn’t go too heavily into the machinations and lore, but at under 200 pages, there was enough established about the sleeper experience that it ultimately didn’t matter. In addition, it was a nice touch that the main character served as a side kick to the hunts in motion, as opposed to becoming preternaturally good at being a sleeper.

A quick eerie read about a librarian with sleep paralysis who’s in over his head when it leads to out-of-body experiences and monsters. Perfect for readers who want to revisit Scott Westerfeld’s Midnighters for a moment.

May 2020 TBR

By Posted in TBR List Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Shelter-in-place continues through May in Illinois. Halfway through this month, I’m going to slowly start making a plan regarding employment and read these fine reads in the mean time. Things with a * are from last month’s TBR.

Hard Copies

  • The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
  • Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus*
  • The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco*
  • Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford (ARC)
  • Scapegracers by H.A. Clarke (ARC)*

Kindle

  • The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant (ARC)
  • Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (ARC)
  • Flotsam (Peridot Shift #1) by R.J. Theodore*
  • The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer (ARC)*
  • Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (ARC)*
  • The Fiery Crown by Jeffe Kennedy (ARC)
  • The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (ARC)
  • The Unconquered City by K.A. Doore (ARC)
  • Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin*

Audiobooks

  • Blood Countess by Lana Popovic
  • The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
  • Highfire by Eoin Colfer
  • Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton
  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
  • Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
  • Uprooted by Naomi Novik
  • We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

My own novel is still with alpha readers, so I’m returning the favor and also doing some beta reading this month.